OPEC+ lowers forecast for oil surplus in the market in 2022, media reported

MOSCOW, August 31 – PRIME. The OPEC+ Technical Monitoring Committee has lowered its forecast for an oversupply in the market by the end of this year to 400,000 barrels per day from 900,000 earlier, Reuters reported, citing sources in the alliance.

“The oil market in 2022 expects a small surplus of 0.4 million barrels per day, which is much less than the previous forecast, due to underproduction by the countries that are members of the alliance,” the agency said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the agency, citing data from the report of the alliance’s technical committee, reported that the excess supply in the market by the end of the year would amount to 900,000 barrels per day, and not 100,000, as stated in the previous forecast.

OPEC+ cut oil production by 9.7 million barrels per day in May 2020 due to falling demand for oil caused by the widespread fight against covid. Then the terms of the agreement were repeatedly adjusted. So, since August, the alliance has moved to the final stage of exiting the cuts announced two years ago, and in September it will increase production by 100,000 barrels per day.

The current OPEC+ agreement is valid until the end of the year. At the same time, earlier in August, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that the alliance would soon begin work on a new oil agreement for the period after 2022. He also noted the discrepancies that exist in the dynamics of the physical and “paper” (exchange) markets, saying that the alliance, as before, has all the necessary leverage to influence volatility, including production cuts.

OPEC+ ministers are going to discuss the state of the oil market and further parameters of the agreement on Monday, September 5.